Easttown to solicit snow-removal bids

Easttown Township will solicit bids for snow removal after the Board of Supervisors approved the move at Monday night’s meeting.

Prior to this year, snow removal was done by unionized township employees. The township entered the year with no collective bargaining agreement with its American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employee (AFSCME) members. After negotiations ended in February and layoffs were made, the work was slotted for an outside contractor.

As the winter progressed, the work that was done did not live up to township expectations.

“I think there was a lot of learning that had to take place in a short period of time last year, in the midst of a lot of turmoil from a labor standpoint,” Easttown Township Manager Michael Brown said. “It’s my responsibility to make sure things get done properly, and I don’t think I delivered fully what the township should expect. I’m certainly committed to making sure we do a better job this coming year.”

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In soliciting bids a year ago, the contract included performance stipulations. The job was advertised twice, and no bids came in, which led to searching for someone to do the work.

“It was my fault, because I wrote the specifications to get a very performance-oriented service,” Brown said. “The vendors who supply the service do not want those kinds of specifications. They want to show up with their equipment, be told where to plow and get paid for it.

“We learned from that, and so this new contract has been equipped so that we are to go out and direct them on where to plow.”

While last year’s snow removal did not go as expected, the mild winter provided fortunate circumstances. As a result, the sand bins are full, and last winter was not a total disaster.

“There have been moments in life when I’ve been more lucky than good, and last winter was one of those moments,” Brown said.